Prime Suspect
Darlene stared at the policemen who were questioning her in her living room, her palms sweatier than usual. “I swear, Officers. I had no idea that this room existed.”
However, the policemen were not convinced by Darlene’s statements.
Her husband had been missing for days, and now it was time for her to go with them to the police station.
Missing
Darlene Hines couldn’t wrap her mind around the mystery.
Not only had her husband of 19 years, Greg, gone missing, but she had just stumbled upon what could only be described as a bunker in their house.
The more she tried to tell the police that she had no idea of its existence, the more guilty she looked. They were convinced that she was lying to them.
Straight To Voicemail
Darlene kept trying his phone over and over again, but it went straight to voicemail. She sighed and wondered where he could be.
Darlene and Greg Hines had been married for 19 years, and like all married couples, they were prone to the occasional fight or argument.
But this time, it had all gone too far.
Arguing
Like most couples, Darlene and Greg always argued about something. But now, Darlene might have taken things a little too far.
The argument ended with Greg walking out of the door.
It had been a whole day, and he still had not come home yet. Darlene decided to leave it since he would usually just go to his brother to cool off and blow off steam.
Too Angry
She didn’t even realize the time until much later. She was still too angry at him to care.
But after a whole twenty-four hours had passed without so much as a call or a text from Greg, Darlene began to worry.
She tried calling him, but it always went straight to voicemail, and he wasn’t even looking at her text messages.
A Games Room
She thought back to what they were arguing about. Greg wanted to use their vacation fund to build another room in the back of the house.
It would be exclusively for him and his friends.
It would be like a place for him to relax and watch the game, and he would equip it with a pool table and other games. Darlene thought it was a silly and selfish idea.
What About The Vacation?
She thought that the money they had saved up was for the vacation they were supposed to take to Hawaii for their 20th wedding anniversary.
She hated that Greg just wanted to use the money for a room for himself.
To her, it was selfish, and she hoped that he would realize it. But he became very angry and left.
Walk-Aways
He stormed off without saying a word to Darlene, and now he was still gone. Darlene had experienced his walk-aways before, and usually, he would be back the next day.
But now, as twenty-four hours went by, she became very worried. She decided to give Greg’s brother, Rob, a call.
She was so sure he was with him. But Darlene was in for a surprise.
Haven’t Heard From Him
“Hi Rob, is Greg with you? I haven’t heard from him since yesterday,” she asked. But she didn’t receive the answer that she was hoping for from Rob.
“Hey, Darlene. He was here yesterday, but then he left. I thought he went back home.
That’s what he said he was going to do,” Rob replied.
Worried
Darlene felt her heart drop. She was very worried now. Not only was her husband now missing, he wasn’t even answering her calls or text messages.
The only thing left to do was report him as a missing person to the police. This was becoming serious now.
She didn’t think that Greg would intentionally do something like this.
The Investigation
With a heavy heart, Darlene reported Greg as a missing person to the police.
They started an investigation immediately, taking note of all the details she could provide about his last known whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Darlene hoped that she had done the right thing. Something told her that she needed to report him missing, she was worried for his life. She felt like something had happened.
Anxiety Grows
Days turned into a week, and Darlene’s anxiety only grew. She cooperated fully with the police, allowing them to search their home and answer their questions.
But as time passed, they began to suspect that Darlene might be withholding information, especially when they found out about their argument over the “games room.”
They asked Darlene why she had waited so long to report her husband as missing.
The Search
The police conducted extensive searches of the surrounding area, questioned Greg’s friends, and checked surveillance footage from nearby businesses. Yet, they found no trace of him. Darlene’s hope dwindled with each passing day.
During this time, Darlene couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by guilt. She wished she had been more understanding about Greg’s desire for the games room, and she regretted their last heated words.
She desperately wanted her husband to come back so they could make amends.
The Discovery
It was on the twelfth day after Greg’s disappearance that Darlene decided to take matters into her own hands. She couldn’t stand the uncertainty any longer. She returned to the argument they had before he left and began searching the house for clues.
In the basement, after moving some old furniture, she stumbled upon a loose brick in the wall. Curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to investigate further.
Pulling the brick aside, she revealed a hidden door. Her heart raced as she cautiously pushed it open, revealing a dimly lit room.
The Bunker
Darlene looked around at the room she had just discovered. After all the years of living in their family home, she didn’t know that this room existed.
The space was unsettling, to say the least. It resembled a bunker, with concrete walls and a low ceiling.
Inside, she found a makeshift bed, some canned food, and a small television.
Suspicious
Darlene couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She immediately called the police.
It looked like someone had been living in her house, and she wanted the police to look through the room before whoever was there ambushed her.
But as she waited for the police to arrive, her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to have another look.
If Only
The tiny room was filthy. It didn’t look like it had been cleaned in months. Darlene was terrified. Had this room been here all along? How could she have lived here for so many years without noticing it?
She wished that her husband was around to see it. It would feel a lot less scary if she had him by her side, protecting her.
Her heart yearned for him. What would she do if he never came back? She had to blink back tears.
The Flash
She shook her head as she ventured further into the room. She had to control her emotions. She had too much on her plate, and now was not the time to fantasize about having Greg by her side.
The tiny flash of her phone barely made a difference, but at least she could focus it on certain parts of the room. She was surprised to find a small table in one corner.
But then, she saw something truly creepy.
A Sandwich
There, on the table, she found a plate with a half-eaten sandwich on top.
When she decided to touch it, her heart sank. It was still fresh. When she first discovered the room, she had assumed it had been abandoned, but she was wrong.
Someone had been in there recently, eating and probably sleeping. Who on earth was living in her house without her knowledge?
A Pile On The Floor
Her heart sank when she looked to her side and found a pile on the floor. She pointed her flash at it, but from where she was standing, it was impossible to see what she was looking at.
She breathed out shakily and took a step away from the table.
What on earth was she staring at? For a moment, she considered running out of the room, screaming, but she found herself frozen in place.
Taking A Breath
She closed her eyes for just a moment and tried to regain her composure.
She was freaked out as shiver after shiver shot down her spine. From where she was standing, she spotted something that almost looked like hair.
She had to do something. Either she had to get out of there, or she had to approach the pile on the floor. She took another step forward.
Hesitation
She kept her flash firmly on the pile on the floor as she took small, hesitant steps toward it. The room was dead silent around her, except for the sound of her feet hitting the cold concrete.
As she got closer, she became more and more confused.
The pile became more recognizable, and she was starting to wonder if her eyes were lying to her. Surely it couldn’t be what she thought it was, right?
What Was It?
Her heart was racing. The pile on the floor looked like a human in the fetal position, and it scared the living daylight out of her. Who could it be? Was it her husband, or a stranger?
But most importantly, were they okay? The pile hadn’t moved since she had first spotted it. What if she was approaching something truly sinister?
She took one last step, and just then, she realized what she was staring at.
The Truth
What she had thought was hair, was a fur coat. It was a pile of clothes, some fresh while others were old and ratty. How long had someone been living in here? She took a step back and glanced around herself once again.
The television was plugged into the wall, and there were fresh footprints in the thick layer of dust on the floor.
Someone had been living in there for a while.
Lurking In The Shadows
Darlene felt scared for her life. She knew she had to get out of there immediately.
She couldn’t help but wonder if the person knew she was in there. It was so dark, she wouldn’t even notice if someone was lurking in the shadows.
She wanted to call for her husband, but he was no longer there to help her. But what if this room had something to do with his disappearance?
What If?
What if whoever had been living there had done something to her husband? What if he was alone one day, and they decided to confront him? What if her husband was closer than she had thought?
She had to get out of there and she had to mention these suspicions to the police.
Her heart dropped as she ran for the door. She felt like a small child running down a dark hall, scared that something would grab them.
Waiting
As soon as she exited the room, she shut the door behind her and took a deep breath.
She had never felt so afraid in her life. How long had this been going on? It scared her to think that someone had been right there all along.
Darlene waited in the living room as she stared out the window. She was waiting for the police to arrive. She needed their help.
Blue Lights
She sighed in relief when she finally spotted the blue lights at the end of the street. She ran for the front door and unlocked it before meeting the officers outside.
They were the same officers who had been working on her husband’s case.
Although they weren’t the nicest men, she hoped they could help her and make her feel safe again.
Telling Them Everything
The second they stepped out of their vehicle, Darlene told them about her discovery.
“I pushed it open and it led to this pitch-black room. There is a television in there, and fresh food and clothes. Someone has been living in my home!”
But as soon as the police heard what she had to say, they had a lot of questions for Darlene, and soon enough, they were looking at her in suspicion. Darlene became very nervous.
They Didn’t Trust Her
Darlene was at a loss for words as they questioned her about what was going on inside of her home. They were less concerned about the hidden room, what truly worried them was the circumstances surrounding her husband’s disappearance.
It is not uncommon for partners to harm one another during heated arguments.
The police didn’t believe her story. They suspected that she had already known about this secret room.
Please Help Me
All Darlene wanted was their help, but instead, she was flooded by accusation after accusation.
Her husband had been gone for nearly two weeks. The police found it suspicious that she cared more about the hidden room than her husband’s whereabouts.
“Please help me, I think that whoever had been living in there will know what happened to my husband,” She told officers.
Questions
The police officers began interrogating Darlene relentlessly. They questioned her about her knowledge of the hidden room, her relationship with Greg, and if she had any enemies who might want to harm him.
Darlene felt like a criminal under the harsh spotlight of their suspicion.
Things were starting to heat up, and Darlene didn’t know if she could get herself out of this mess.
Would They Believe Her?
And she didn’t know if the police would believe anything that would come out of her mouth this time. At first, she looked like a concerned wife, but now all fingers were pointed towards her.
She was sweating buckets as she could feel their eyes boring into her.
And what’s more, her sweating also looked very suspicious. It made her look very guilty.
Looking Through The Room
The policemen walked into the hidden room, picking up this and that and examining everything that they could. Darlene’s nerves were shot.
She didn’t know what they were going to find. What if they found something that would unwittingly place her as a suspect?
She didn’t know what she was going to do if they pinned something on her.
Regret
At this point, she regretted ever calling them. Had she just handed herself over to the police on a silver platter? She dreaded to think what they could find that could implicate her.
They turned the bed over and searched underneath it. But there was nothing.
Darlene breathed a sigh of relief. But she still wondered who stayed in the bunker.
Something Strange
It still bothered her that it was there, and she hoped that there was no one there was actually squatting there. The policeman turned to her, and they could see how nervous she looked.
“There’s something very strange going on here,” one of the policemen said. He looked at Darlene with suspicious eyes.
All Darlene could do was look away.
Prime Suspect
Darlene stared at the policemen who were now questioning her. “I swear, Officers. I had no idea that this room existed.”
However, the policemen were not convinced by Darlene’s statements. Her husband had been missing for days, and now it was time for her to go with them to the police station.
They believed that Darlene might be withholding crucial information about her husband’s disappearance, and the discovery of the hidden room only deepened their suspicions.
Interrogation
At the police station, Darlene faced hours of intense interrogation.
They probed her about the argument she had with Greg, her knowledge of the hidden room, and whether she had any enemies who might want to harm her husband.
Darlene maintained her innocence, explaining that she had never seen the room before and that she genuinely had no idea where Greg could be.
The Evidence
As the hours dragged on, the detectives presented Darlene with the evidence they had gathered so far.
It wasn’t looking good for her. They had found a set of fingerprints on the canned food in the hidden room, and those prints matched hers.
Darlene was at a loss for words. She couldn’t explain how her fingerprints ended up in that room. She knew she had never been there before.
A Dark Revelation
Just when Darlene thought things couldn’t get any worse, the detectives dropped another bombshell.
They had retrieved security camera footage from the neighborhood, and it showed her leaving the house late at night, around the time Greg had disappeared.
Darlene was horrified as she watched herself on the screen, sneaking out of her own home. The shock on her face was genuine.
She Remembers
But then she remembered where she was going. “I remember now. It’s not what you think. I was going to Greg’s brother Rob to see if Greg was there or not, that’s all,” she replied.
But still, the police weren’t convinced.
“So if we call Greg’s brother Rob, he would be able to corroborate the story?” the one detective asked.
Desperate
Darlene nodded eagerly, her voice trembling with desperation. “Yes, please call Rob. He’ll tell you that I went to his place to check on Greg. I was worried sick. That’s why I left the house.”
The detectives exchanged a skeptical glance but proceeded to make the call. After a tense few minutes, they hung up the phone, their expressions changing from suspicion to uncertainty.
Unanswered Questions
“Rob confirmed your story,” one detective said begrudgingly. “But it still doesn’t explain the fingerprints on that can of beans. There’s still a lot of unanswered questions hanging in the air about that.”
Darlene’s mind raced as she tried to piece together the puzzle.
She couldn’t understand how her fingerprints ended up in that hidden room.
Long Hours
After hours of being at the police station and answering all of their questions, Darlene was relieved to hear them say that she was free to go for now.
All she wanted to do was take a long hot bath and get into bed. And when she got home, she did just that.
She thought about Greg and hoped that wherever he was, he was safe. Then she heard a strange noise.
A Noise
She quickly got out of bed and cautiously listened. Then she heard it again. This time, it sounded like a door had just closed. She grabbed a baseball bat and headed downstairs.
She had her phone in her pocket just in case she needed to dial 911. When she came downstairs, she found that the kitchen light was on.
She could have sworn that she switched off all the lights.
Hearing Voices
It was like she could hear voices as well. It sounded like a TV was on. She then thought about what they had found in the bunker.
There was a TV down there, and now it sounded like someone was down there watching it.
She quickly called Officer Mahoney. She knew that she wasn’t alone in her house. Someone was in that bunker.
Moving Quietly
The police arrived as quietly as possible. They didn’t want to scare off whoever was in that bunker. They moved down the basement, trying not to make a sound.
They now stood by the entranceway to the bunker. The TV was certainly on, and they could hear movements inside.
It was time to catch the culprit who had been living in Darlene’s house.
Put Your Hands Up!
“Police! Put your hands up, and don’t move!” Office Mahoney yelled. There was indeed someone in the bunker, and now he was surrounded and had nowhere to run.
Darlene pushed past the policemen to see what was going on. She wanted to look at the person who had been staying in her house without her even knowing it.
But when she saw who it was, her blood ran cold.
What Are You Doing Here?
Darlene clutched her chest as she stared at her husband, Greg. “What are you doing down here, Greg? We’ve been looking all over for you!” she yelled.
Greg just hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Darl. When we had the fight, I just needed to be alone, and I found this cool area in the basement.
I decided to stay here for a while,” was all Greg mustered.
How Could You?
Darlene erupted. “How could you do this to me? I was worried sick about you, and yet you were right here, living like a bachelor in your own house.
Do you have any idea what you put me through?”
Greg felt a pang of guilt. All he could do was apologize. The policemen uncuffed Greg, let him off with a warning, and gave him a fine.
Mixed Emotions
Darlene’s anger and relief clashed as she scolded her husband. Greg realized the gravity of his actions and apologized profusely.
He explained how he had intended to stay in the bunker for just a day to clear his head but lost track of time.
He had snuck into the kitchen for food. He then disconnected from his phone to avoid arguments, not realizing the panic he had caused.
Reconciliation
In the days that followed, Darlene and Greg had a lot to work through. Their emotions ranged from anger to relief to a deep sense of forgiveness. They attended couples counseling to address the underlying issues in their relationship and to find healthier ways to communicate.
Darlene couldn’t help but feel a mixture of irritation and amusement at the whole situation.
She couldn’t believe that her husband had been living like a recluse in their own home, all because of a disagreement about a games room.
Lessons Learned
The experience served as a wake-up call for both of them.
They realized that they needed to prioritize their relationship and open up better lines of communication. They decided to compromise on the games room and their upcoming vacation.
Darlene was very relieved that nothing serious had befallen her husband. And at the end of it all, her name was finally cleared.
Working Their Issues
Over the next few months, Darlene and Greg worked through their issues.
They both acknowledged their roles in the argument and agreed to compromise on the use of their vacation fund.
They decided to use part of it to turn the bunker into the games room Greg had wanted, and the rest would go toward their long-awaited trip to Hawaii.
Stronger
Their relationship grew stronger as they communicated openly and made amends. They laughed about the bizarre situation, realizing that sometimes, even long-married couples needed space to cool off.
The discovery of the hidden bunker had brought them closer together, reminding them of the importance of understanding and trust in their relationship.
Greg swore that he would never do anything like that again.
No Foul Play
The police, satisfied that there was no foul play involved, closed Greg’s missing person case.
The incident served as a valuable lesson to the Hines family, emphasizing the significance of clear communication, compromise, and appreciation for the love they shared.
Darlene was so relieved that nothing serious had come of the situation. It could have turned out so much for not only her but both of them.
A Joint Effort
As they began construction on the games room, they turned it into a joint project, symbolizing their newfound unity and commitment to each other.
The room became a place where they could bond over games, watch sports together, and create lasting memories.
In the end, the hidden room, once a source of suspicion and mystery, became a symbol of their enduring love and the strength of their marriage.
New Beginnings
Over time, the story of Greg’s disappearance and discovery of the hidden bunker became a source of laughter for the couple. They often joked about how their home had secrets they hadn’t uncovered in nearly two decades of living there.
Their relationship, once tested by adversity, emerged stronger than ever.
Darlene and Greg learned that sometimes, it takes a crisis to make you appreciate what you have and to remind you of the importance of love and understanding in a marriage.
The Trip
As the years went by, Darlene and Greg celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary with a trip to Hawaii, just as they had planned.
It was a symbol of their enduring love and their ability to overcome challenges together.
Darlene was very happy that they could come to a compromise where both of them got what they wanted.
Love Prevails
The hidden room and the mysterious disappearance were stories they would tell their grandchildren. It was proof that even in the darkest of times, love could prevail.
They cherished every moment of their lives together, no longer taking their love for granted.
And Darlene even enjoyed playing a game or two in the infamous game rooms.